Breathing a bout of air that was strong with intense smell of antiseptic and medical drugs, a pang of pain shot in her head making it light-weighted and the rising heat on her skin made it much more worse. Her feets moved with calculative yet  unfaltered steps and a hand clapsed against her heart with mutters of small prayers.

Swara paused outside the threshold of the emergency unit, a hand reaching out for the handle of the door that would lead to her brother and her sense reeled. When was the last he called for her to have a talk, perhaps a simple conversation without no spats of bitterness? Her hand retrieved at that.

The guilt lingered along, how would she meet him? with what nerve and guts she had the right to meet him? A tortured breathe escaped from her lips with every remembrance of those haunted memories, "Swara?" She flinched visibly by the touch on her shoulder but her retrieved hand now rested on the handle.

"Maybe I shouldn't go." Swara shook her head trying to gather the thoughts that held herself on faulty charges.

"Nothing's going to happen." Jay assured holding her arm from the side, "Don't let such creepy ideas to change your mind." The impact of his words made the grip on the handle hard enough to turn her knuckles white. With a vague nod and heavy sigh, Swara entered the room.

The sight of the room- sounds of machines with wires, white walls and eerie silence almost reminded Swara of memories she had strived hard to bury deep inside. Her muscles stiffened, breathing shallowed and panic slowly builded up, It's bhai, not maa. Calm down! - Swara repeated moving ahead.

Aditya's reverie broke with the approaching sound of footsteps, there were jitters in him with all those small steps she took. How long had he awaited to get a glimpse of his sister! Turning his gaze, Aditya was stunned enough to drain colours off his face. Rigid yet hunched figure, thick spectacles on her hazels to hide and paled skin- What had she done to herself in his absence?

Making Swara to sit in the stool, Pavithra observed the siblings pointedly due to the prevailed silence. She planned to slip away to give the duo a needed privacy until a tug felt on her scarf, only to see Swara's gaze on her with a silent plead screaming to stay. Pavithra blinked her eyes in assurance and shared a glance with Aditya who nodded as well.

For the entire time Swara could not gather courage to look up at Aditya who's intense gaze was fixed on her. Alertness with mixed sensation of hesitance and guilt wavered in her heart with every fall and rise of her breathing,

"You wouldn't look at your brother?" The voice was awfully rough and hoarse but that made Swara snap up to Aditya, almost taken aback. It almost felt like an illusion that she looked at Pavithra for a solid assurance.

Pavithra shook her head in disbelief at Aditya's words, "Aditya regained his vocals in the morning. I came to know only after our conversation back in school." She explained with a smile, caressing her hair as Swara nodded in a swift.

Her brother was alright! - The very information knocked away the strong walls she built in his absence. A heavy sigh of relief left through her parted lips visibly on that take. Sheen of tears stayed in the bay of her downcasted hazels and eye lashes fanned often as the flashes of mishap threatened her, dragging her down.

"Swara?" Aditya called out but Swara was too lost to hear his call. Hardly a glance and Aditya could say how Swara should have closed herself from everyone, trapped willingly in her world of traumas at nights. Somewhere he had played a part in those wrenching memories too, he knew.

He leaned forward, a hand forward towards to Swara as he pulled away those spectacles off. Swara doesn't move but a hand forwarded in front of her caught attention through her blurry vision. A soft smile lifted her lips curve upward. It was Aditya's habit to offer a hand to take hers whenever she was upset.

With a hand offered, Aditya waited in anticipation. A part of him feared for she might not take but the other side fought that she would. That smile... he knew Swara had recollected their memories painted in vibrant yet soft hues in them. Though a little hesitant, Swara placed her hand in his. Aditya curled them in gentle hold.

"The accident was meant for me." Swara chocked, her broken pieces of guilt now poked on her insides making her breathless. Aditya could feel her hand tremble in his hold as her voice faltered and broke between phrases, "The revenge was meant for either one of us or even both." As a tear slipped from her hazels Aditya gently brushed it away with his thumb, his throat tightened in the process.

"You're not at mistake, never." He cajoled her like a child and just then Swara shivered more. The heat emitted from Swara worried him much more, she had fever- for how long had she been self destructing herself? bring and sealing all the pain into her?

All the bottled agony of years formed in form of tears and slid through her cheeks but nothing mattered except for her brother's words that lingered in her on loop. The hand that held hers in a protective, assuring way and everything felt so unreal, "Can I hug you?" Swara asked hardly audible.

For a moment Aditya said nothing in return but gave a nod and Swara was already in his arms, borrowing her face on his shoulder crying out all the grief that made home in her.

No, not even the bruises and broken bones he had suffered made him ache so much like the hug did. Everything swirled, all the succumbed memories seemed to be alive and real, "Stop inflicting self torture. It hurts to see you like that." Aditya hissed with teary eyes, a peak on her hair as she remained in his arms still.

The rustic walls that menaced to collapse every now and then had completely fallen. Swara savoured the moment, an veil attempt to ease way all of the fears and pain from haunting scars she had been blessed from the past. The burden doesn't leave her heart, tears don't stop yet she wouldn't move away from her brother either.

"Swara.." Aditya paused to inhale, "Can we have a fresh start?" Swara tore away from his hold abruptly, panic building in her. Aditya's words from the past sounded in loops that she couldn't comprehend herself for sane sense. His words left her to swallow the humid void of venom that suffocated and chocked her throat until she became breathless, her vision turned into hazy unfocused gaze and a spark of pain passed through her veins letting her gasp.

The legs that fought a battle to move forward to Aditya then, now moved behind on it's own accord. Swara stumbled but that couldn't bring her back to the reality, "Swara? Are you okay?" Pavithra asked softly, Swara vaguely felt her hand on the shoulder but nothing made sense. Air! She was in need of it.

Without giving a heed of moment, Swara barreled out in hasty steps- unseeing, unheeding with deep breathes. Her steps faltered, often stumbled in an attempt to get through the people in the corridors. The entrance was what she had to reach.

"Swara?" Jay gasped as he held his bestfriend who supposedly ran into him. The hand she placed on his elbow for balance tightened, "Out.." Swara feverishly uttered and Jay in a swift, escorted her outside.

The minute they were out, Swara balanced herself to move forward with the help of the pillars. Her hazels stung and chest tightened as she took a heavy breath of the post noon breeze in to her burning lungs, "Breathe." Jay mumbled softly.

It took few minutes for Swara to catch up the lost breathe but the process ended up exhausting her too much. Her vision seemed to blur out with darkness on the sides by the immense throbbing headache and the cold breeze against her hot skin made her shiver much to her misfortune.

She was sinking slowly into that dark abyss that awaited to embrace, waiting for her to surrender. Her wobbly legs seemed to give out any time sooner and so was her consciousness. Swara knew she would fall, despite a hand that Jay held as he was busy trying to call probably to ask for help.

By the time Swara fell backward, someone held in frosty palms against her feverish skin from behind. Her eyes fluttered back to hazy vision on that take, "Caught you." Sanskaar breathed taking a glance of Swara and back at Jay.

"My goodness." Jay left a sigh of relief and gently tapped her cheeks to get her back to consious, for she seemed to slip away willingly, "For god sake what did even bhai told you?" Jay stammered in concern.

Sanskaar could feel her lean against him completely, still dizzy and almost in verge of giving out. Her body emitted too much heat that her pale skin seemed to be flustered in red with tear stain on her cheeks. How much should she suffer?

A vague voice of Jay was heard, "He- asked for-- a fresh s-start." Swara hissed, a tear slipped through her bloodshot unfocused eyes, even her vocals burnt by the dryness in her throat. Jay was completely buffled that he halted from his action.  Sanskaar did hear her broken phrase too confused by what it actually meant.

Sanskaar.. for some reason he seemed to be cold, too cold for her. Maybe because she was burning that he felt cold? But for some oddly reason the chillness seemed to be cosy that she couldn't help herself from snuggling, borrowing herself into him.

"Swara." She was dimmly aware of Sanskaar shifting her to a side, concerned hands handling her like a fragile glass. Swara willingly rested her forehead against his shoulder, "Hmm" She titled her head slightly to look up and immediately scrunched by the blinding light of the sun above him.

Sanskaar trailed away the locks of hair that fell across her face. She was in need of rest, the fever seemed to be too vigorous on her, "Sleep." If it was on another day where she had been sane, that husky yet soft tone he used to whisper in her ears would have got her blushing.

Rather, it felt like a spell- a spell that had come to free her away from all the tiring charges and burden she had been carrying. Swara could densely feel his fingers stroke her wet cheeks and how he tugged her closer to him, his chin resting on her head and by the time Swara was already asleep.

~

The dawn fell and disappeared into horizons with splattered colours of magenta pink, burnt yellows,  and crimson reds. Dusk appeared with scattered ashes of clouds that often hide the waning crescent while the cluster of stars accompanied the moon.

Oblivious of her surroundings, Swara was still asleep or rather unconscious by all the exhaustion and sickness. Sanskaar held her hand in a tender grip, the back of hand pressed on his forehead. The amount of horror she kept giving him would land him to death one day.

Her features still looked a little weary probably the result of the sleepless nights she had spent. Faint traces of black circles prevailed under her closed hazels, the usual glow all snatched by the melancholy traits that lingered on her. Sanskaar placed the cold compress on her forehead to which she stirred a little by the contact of cold cloth on her mild burning skin.

Sanskaar couldn't watch Swara rotting herself in distress in silence. It ached him to much of an extent that he felt himself placed in a gloomy state of no hope. He placed his forehead against hers, a lump raised in his throat and tears brimmed. The anguish he saw in her eyes before they had dimmed into darkness would haunt him.

Swara was way too precious for him loose to those demons that demanded to eat her away. He was in need of her, not just for a moment or two- for always. On that take Sanskaar stormed out of the room to get a hold on himself.

~

As Swara sat up, a hand messaging her throbbing temple she found a dump cloth fall off from her forehead to her lap. She eyelashes fluttered to regain both, the vision and sense. The room... it was not a hospital, either it was her room but a very familiar one- Ah, it was Jay's.

The headache seemed to linger still but much more milder than before and it was past seven in the evening, Swara sighed.

Few pieces of memory from the noon stuck her then. The anxiety attack that followed by Aditya's words, Her attempt to run despite the faltering steps, Jay holding on to her wavered state with horrified expressions but yet he managed and came Sanskaar- to hold her from the fall. She could not remember his face, for when she tried the sun that shone brighter above him blinded her sight by its mighty rays.

She even remembered answering something to Jay's question feverishly and Sanskaar's "Sleep" was all she remembered before loosing conscious. Swara narrowed her gaze back to the cold compress she held in her hands and scanned the room in search of Jay. To assure him that she was alright.

Finding a sleeping Mia on the other side of the bed, Swara was sure taken aback on the prospect of what she was doing here. Nevertheless Swara stroked her hair and pressed a kiss on her crown. Mia snuggled against on the pillow, her cheek pressed on them and it gained a smile on Swara's lips.

With that, Swara scrambled on her feet softly hissing by the physical ache felt but yet moved out of the room in search of Jay or Mr. Sharma. She noticed someone rest with his hands rested on the table to act like cushions and the face buried in them. It was not Jay, Swara was quite certain from the physical appearance. It looked like him.. Sanskaar.

Swara strode towards the table, the anticipation to find who it was made her go forward. Even from the closer viewer she couldn't get a view of his face and all she could see was the dark hair straight locks, some unheaved cutting the lines in places. His hunched body leaned downward to rest. It had to be him.

When a warm hand was felt, Sanskaar woke up in a shudder only to meet the tired hazels that danced with amusement and curiosity. Sanskaar stood up abruptly with brimmed concern, "You're up? You need anything? You should have called, now go back to sleep."

"Sanskaar! Relax." Swara held both of his wrist that was forwarded to escort her back to room. Just a glance and she could tell how afraid Sanskaar was... it was the very look her had when Asha was admitted, "I'm okay, trust me." She assured and Sanskaar sighed.

"Sit." He muttered moving to the seat that was beside and only after watching her sit down, he sat as well, "Where's Jay?" She asked, her eyes swayed through the hallway to find if he was there.

"Gone to bring medicines from the pharmacy." He explained and Swara nodded in acknowledgement, "Ah! My eyes burns from all bawled sessions today." She pressed her palms to the hazels for a second or two and Sanskaar was rather stuck in his world of musings.

"Forget it if you want." He mouthed to phrase gaining a confused gaze from her side, "It was from your brother- Forget it if you want." Sanskaar repeated and Swara leaned against the chair.

"I messed it up, literally!" Swara shook herself in utter disbelief at how her anxiety attack ruined the moment that she had dreamt, awaited to happen all the time. Sanskaar commented nothing for he does not want to interfere on things he had no knowledge of.

"It's been more than seven years since we had a proper conversation." Sanskaar's breathe rattled on the take, seven years? But- "It doesn't look like that, does it?" Swara let a dry chuckle, bitterness etched on every word.

"Everything is an act, a lie for the world to call us perfect. None of them knew the perfect they call is nothing but an illusion." He willingly took her hand in his and drew patterns to soothe her.

"You can halt if you want." Sanskaar assured not wanting to push her, he couldn't find himself watching her drown into tears of grief again, "Let me do it." Swara urged.

"I was eleven when I lost maa, feared to even have a glance of piano. Once, Father and bhai had a horrible fight. They- they broke things and he screamed for hiding information about my maa, my existence and all the things he had done to him." She paused to swallow the lump that followed by remembering the details, "For the first time I saw him on the new light-  seething with so much anger. It scared me but that didn't stop me from nearing him. When I neared him, he.. pushed me. Yelled to not call him bhai.

A tortures breathe escaped her lips. That memory still resided in her like a thorn that often pricked her enough to bleed. Sanskaar tugged her closer to him to comfort her, somehow, anyhow that would pull her back to reality.

"That time I was too young to grasp what had happened, what his words actually meant. Later when I did it eventually became another fragment of  nightmare." That gleam of intense madness, a fire that awaited to burn and consume people in flames with a glance in his eyes- to think of it even at the moment brought chills to her.

"It's all over. You are far away in years of whatever that had hurted you." Sanskaar could feel her shiver slightly against his hold, probably by the recollection of memory.

"Mm, but it still hurts. It was like a trigger when he told that, as if rubbing salt to the bruise I kept away from everyone." Swara winced as she closed her eyes for a momentary moment before opening them as she let out a heavy sigh, "I don't know if I could ever disclose the distance we made with so much efforts."

She often quotes- Gagodia's are complicated, Sanskaar could exactly realise how true Swara had always been on terming them like that. He could picture the flashes of how Aditya had always been a concerned brother to Swara, he had seen it many times. But the relevant information she had given made him confused. Something seemed unsettled, unrevealed in the equation though.

"Give it time Swara. Concentrate on healing yourself first." He suggested and Swara hummed in response. Maybe Sanskaar was right, rather than forcing herself with a decision it would be better to keep it off for a while. "I'll go mad." Swara whinned.

"You'll have a partner there." The playful wink he passed on her way got Swara to chuckle at that. Having Jay and Sanskaar on such damp days had been a blessing, for they knew tatics to bring back the lost smile and inhale a bout of air so easily when she suffered to breathe.

"Shonaaa." The voice made both of them to shift their gaze back to the origin of the voice heard. Mia stood with her lips jutted out in shivers as her chin wobbled and her eyes watered.

"What happened?" Swara blinked in confusion and Sanskaar was all set to walk towards the little one but then Mia herself came near them. Swara picked up Mia in her arms, wincing a little and made her sit on her lap. The girl had sure grown up.

Mia would not look at Swara to her face but buried her face into her all sobbing, "Mia?" she called but the little one would not face her. Sanskaar ruffled Mia's hair on the take and gave gentle pats on her back, "What did you tell Mia in the morning?"

Morning? Swara tried to recollect what she had told to Mia, "I asked her to wait for me and not to go anywhere until I- wait!" Her hazels widened at the realisation that dawned on her, "Did she wait for all long?" When Sanskaar gave a nod, Swara bit her lip.

"It took so long to convince her to pick her back from school." Sanskaar stated and Swara said nothing return, it was expected for adamance ran into their bloodline for all good cause, "Are you angry?"

Mia would still not give in so easily to her sister but she nodded hugging her nevertheless. Swara had a very much urge to giggle on the adorable action but fought to keep them in bay while Sanskaar had a great time watching the sisters, "I'll get anything you want. Chocolate? Ice cream?"

Swara tried to negotiate and Mia finally pulled herself away, still sitting on the lap with red nose and flushed cheeks from all the crying, "I want five chocolates, no ten!" Mia showed all her fingers to Swara.

"You sneaky brat!" As Swara tapped her nose Mia scrunched still looking at her sister, waiting for the confirmation with misty eyes, "Fine, demand accepted." Mia's eyes gleamed in sparkles of happiness since her wish was all set to be fulfilled. Tears and pout were replaced with a mouth of grins and giggles.

"You and your ways of bribing." Sanskaar shook his head with a smile, "I had to. Mia would not let go of it and would keep up a pout until things goes on her way. I wouldn't be able to bear too much cuteness then." Swara eyed at the little one who had gone down from her lap and hopping steps from their behind to reach Sanskaar.

"Got you!" Sanskaar played along as he held Mia's hands to which she giggled enough to fill her voice in the house. Swara watched both of them play and laugh louder than managed to reach out to her cold bones, warming them up with pleasant happiness and melting the ice.

"I hope the dawn would shine more brighter." That all she could wish for, after all the days she had spent in darkness despite being in lights, "It would." There was a smile from Sanskaar to her- something too warm, too hopeful, too overwhelming to put them in words. She couldn't wait for the days to get better now.

BONUS SEQUENCE:

*Before Swara - Aditya's meet*

"Leave her."

Aditya holds to his calm composure elegantly despite the fury glares that was ready to burn him for the answer.

"Are you willingly letting that drunken girl to slide off after she nearly killed you?"

"Ain't she the drunken girl who supposedly brought to make her 'the daughter in law of Gagodia's'? You always told me to bear the weight of your action, didn't you father?"

Shekhar's jaw hardened on the thorn of words Aditya threw against him effortlessly in ease watching out his plastered leg and back to his father, "And that's why you brought a woman of your choice who's got not even a single family member alive to call hers, who meagerly grew up among the goodwill we did."

"She's much finer for not having a family like I have who's just nothing in short of a show piece to show off for reputation in returns of gaining profits." Aditya retorted harsher, the temper rose on that comment his father passed.

"Aditya!" Shekhar warned in a loud pitch.

"Pavithra might not had one before but in present, she's got me. A word against my very own person..." His words trailed, "You'd witness how much of a destructor I am which you are still unaware of."

Unlike the time he had threw a open challenge veiled up in intelligence, it was an open threat- clear and crisp. The way his eyes hooded and dark shadows crossed Aditya's features, along side with in low pitch that emitted danger made Shekhar blank for a moment. It startled him to see his own swordsman who faced others on behalf him now standing opposite, a sword pointed against him.

"Shekhar!" Sharmistha strode in unannounced on hearing him call out their son's name louder enough to hear from the other side, "Aditya is in the hospital as a patient, not in your house or the company for you to have ugly conversations." She sneered at him and shifted her gaze to Aditya in soft eyes.

When she forwarded a hand to caress his exhausted pale face, Aditya looked away to the other side not wanting to be touched. The fingers that urged to touch her son was abruptly taken aback as if they got electrolyted by his silent refusal. Tears of dejection blurred her vision but nevertheless she left the room.

Shekhar followed Sharmistha but was not blinded to see the young lady who stood in the entrance... who ever Aditya claimed as his family, his beloved. He passed a dark look towards Pavithra, "Whatever seduction you have done to my son, you've done a damned good job!"

Pavithra replied nothing in return, not even spared to look at the senior Gagodia who seemed to send glares of hatred towards her side. That look almost  made her feel disgusted and low about her own self  that she hated to admit.

"Should I do the honour of getting you in or are you coming in, Pavithra?" Aditya called out for her but then it a clear send off note for the father to leave. Shekhar left on that take and Pavithra walked in.

Aditya threw his head back on the partially lifted bed as his hand automatically went into his tresses. The tension still resided in him, if it was another day he would made his father regret for talking about his woman wrong, If only he was fine... uff!

The minute she had entered, Pavithra flung her arms around Aditya as she hide her face in his shoulder. Though take aback Aditya held her closer, stroking her hair as he muttered sweet nothings to her.

"How dare you to this to me?" Pavithra questioned, her voice heavy in grief and tears, "Accident first, then woke up to loss of speech and now you speak. Do you know how hard it is watch you go all these? You literally snatched away my life."

"Sorry." He apologized, the IV drip attached holds her closer as he wipped away the tears and she let him do, "It was not intended to make you feel that way. Let's blame the circumstances for now since I'm back for good?" Aditya coaxed softly.

"You better be careful. There's too many people who rots in your absence." Her hand gently reached to cup his cheek and Aditya willingly surrendered in her  touch hardly humming in response.

He further pulled her down to get setted beside and wrapped his arms around her lazily. Pavithra gasped at the sudden action but didn't complained back and settled along relaxed, "You still won't tell me?"

"Ah, about that night?" Aditya clicked his tongue at the memory, "I rented the cafe to make us official to my household and guess what? Father had to collapse my entire plan." He left a heavy sigh, bumping his head towards her temple.

Pavithra's eyes went wide but did not waver, "And you called me there without giving the needed information? I could have dressed more nicely." She ranted, a little distracted with hit breathe that fanned against her skin.

"Out of any other day, that night you looked a lot more gorgeous and alluring enough for me to fall heads over heels again." Aditya had a beam of a smile at the beauty reminiscent he could hardly get rid of.

Strokes of crimson shade her features and her eyes droop down, a veil attempt to hide away the coyness. Aditya and his choice of words to pull those shades out of anywhere were an never ending saga.

His curled fingers lifted her chin up to let their eyes meet, just a few inches away for their skin to touch them. The strayed flicker of stars and sparks were back in them, so was the lost glow to lighten both their heart and soul.

Aditya dipped his head closing the few inches of distance into an inch. Breathe mingled along yet he await for her consent. The pulse under her veins pounded enough, skipped beats, "You missed me?"

"You think it is the otherwise?" Pavithra hissed at the  silly question, "For every beat, every breathe and seconds." She still answered unbothered and watched him have a wide grin.

He leaned closer, his lips traced her cheek in stuble touches. The warmth that glide through her skin let her clutch the sheets in tight fist yet she wouldn't stop, rather gave herself into the moment willingly. Aditya knew he had the access, her actions spoke them on louder terms.

The kiss on the corner of her lips got Pavithra's sense to waver but all of them were just him. Aditya was dangerously close to him, even the span inch had slowly eradicated. Like how the full moon gets eclipsed by the sun in unhurried yet deliberate steps to consume it on whole even if it was for a minute or two.

Distance disclosed as their lips brushed against each other vaguely only to drawn a back in jolt by the sudden screech sound of the door. The nurse walked in unaware of the distrubance she had created to change the IV drip.

Aditya had a very hard time controlling the annoyed nerve to snap at the nurse for whatever she had done while Pavithra though a little flustered, had a great time giggling at his annoyed face.

A/N: This was supposed to posted on Monday but then writing a feverish Swara, I landed on fever too. So it delayed.

Not sure how many of you are shippers of Aditya and Pavithra here. Being a hardcore fan of them I couldn't stop myself from writing the 'Kiss- Miss' moment 😂

Love,
Diya❤️